Girls soccer debuts at Williamstown High this fall

August 24, 2013

WILLIAMSTOWN - The character Gordon Gekko from the movie Wall Street wasn't talking soccer when he stated, "that greed, for a lack of a better word, is good. Greed is right, greed works."

Yet, Williamstown coach Mike Albertson is using that same term to motivate his offense and hopefully put goals on the scoreboard as the Yellowjackets enter their first season dedicated solely to girls soccer.

"I would like to see us shoot the ball more," Albertson said. "I want them to finish and put the ball in the goal. I want the girls to be more greedy and shoot the ball as opposed to maybe making that extra pass or making that extra touch."

"This is different," Albertson said. "The girls aren't as physical. There is more passing and ball control. In the boys' matches, what we did in the past is play the long ball and run under it. The girls like to possess and work the ball upfield. Boys like to go for the fast break.

"That's the biggest difference I've noticed."

The roster consists of 18 players. There are no seniors, so Albertson is looking for leadership from his three captains - juniors Heather Albertson and Laura Petty, and sophomore Hannah Jarvis.

More than half of the girls have played on travel teams.

"This is a huge step for Williamstown," coach Albertson said. "The idea had been kicked around for a couple of years and this past winter with the number of incoming freshman and the youth league doing so well, the high school felt it would be a good time to separate into boys and girls teams.

"Now girls at the younger age, in elementary and junior high, have something to aspire to."

Several days ago, Williamstown scrimmaged the Parkersburg junior varsity. And according to the three captain, the Yellowjackets won 4-3.

"Going into the scrimmage, we didn't really know what to expect," coach Albertson said. "Once they worked out the butterflies, they seemed to get their feet beneath them. That kind of fanned the flames in terms of excitement and giving them confidence."

"Our strength is our experience because the girls have played a lot of travel ball for a number of seasons," coach Albertson said. "Our skill level as far as possessing the ball and maintaining the ball along with our speed will be our biggest assets.